2nd elderly woman found guilty of murder 

updated 7:59 p.m. ET April 17, 2008

LOS ANGELES - A Los Angeles jury convicted a second elderly woman of murdering a homeless man in an insurance scheme.

The jury was deadlocked Thursday on another murder count and a conspiracy count against 75-year-old Olga Rutterschmidt.

She was convicted of murdering Kenneth McDavid. The judge has ordered the panel to reconvene Monday to try to decide the other two counts involving victim Paul Vados.

Rutterschmidt's co-defendant Helen Golay was convicted Wednesday of murdering both men. She was also convicted of conspiracy to murder for financial gain in both killings.

Deputy District Attorney Truc Do in earlier court testimony told jurors that Rutterschmidt was an equal participant with Golay.

Golay was convicted of the first-degree murders of McDavid, 50, in 2005 and Vados, 73, in 1999. She was also convicted of the conspiracy counts in both killings.

Prosecutors said the women collected $2.8 million from insurance policies on the lives of the men who were killed in staged hit-and-runs.

Golay's convictions carry potential sentences of life in prison without possibility of parole. The single conspiracy count returned against Rutterschmidt carries a sentence of 25 years to life.

Overheard tip broke the case
Prosecutors said the women recruited their prey from among the homeless of Hollywood, invested thousands of dollars in insurance policies on them and in putting them up in apartments, then drugged them and ran them over in secluded alleys.

Both men initially appeared to have been victims of hit-and-run accidents, and police linked the cases only in late 2005 when a detective investigating one overheard a colleague describe a similar case.

In his closing argument, Deputy District Attorney Bobby Grace called the women "the worst of the worst."

"They didn't need this money. They weren't poor and destitute. They went out of their way to target men who had nothing," the prosecutor said.

Jailhouse video

Pool / Getty Images file The jury saw a secretly recorded videotape of the women, including Olga Rutterschmidt, shown here, after their arrests. Rutterschmidt berated Golay, saying her actions in taking out 23 insurance policies raised a red flag when the men died.

The jury saw a secretly recorded videotape of the two in a lockup after their arrests. Rutterschmidt berated Golay, saying her actions in taking out 23 insurance policies raised a red flag when the men died.

"It's your fault," Rutterschmidt told Golay. "You can't have that many insurances. ... You were greedy. That's the problem."

On insurance policies, the women represented themselves as a cousin and a fiancee of McDavid. Golay said she thought McDavid loved them.

On the tape, Rutterschmidt snapped: "I was the cousin. You were the fiancee. Baloney."

Defense lawyers admitted the women were involved in insurance fraud but denied a murder conspiracy.

MORE FROM CRIME & COURTS

Crime & courts Section Front

How citizens stepped up to end manhunt D.C. seeks new rules after gun ruling FedEx delivers pot to wrong spot Cops: Man hid pound of cocaine in undies 2 charged for riding snowmobiles on lake Thieves are grabbing more ATMs Crime & courts Section Front   Add Crime & courts headlines to your news reader: